Bottom construction for paperboard containers



2,502,384 BOTTOII CONSTRUCTION FORI PARERBOARD CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 4, 1948 '6. LQTH March 28, 1950 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l INVENTOR Gaylord Loth ATTO March 28, 1950 G. LoTH Bo'r'rou CONSTRUCTION Fon PAPERBOARD com'AINERs 2 Sheds-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 4, 1948 l l l I I I I I i n |||lf..\|||||..l||||.1

nt l im F/ 5 1 n f n w olo n n 4 Z v 5 Z 7 m n m u mr m L ,r 6 w d n m r A HT lllllll .W Z/ R nl alo a 9 n 5 5 Y In Ml/m B z) m a d l /V U,5 l 0 un. Il zr, 5 4 2m. 7 Z 2 l/ Zw/ Q( Z l .l 9 HN u n 4 /"nul, n /1l Patented Mar. 28, 1950 BOTTOM CONSTRUCTION FOR PAPER- BOARD CONTAINERS Gaylord Loth, Sandusky, Ohio, assigner to The Hinde & Dauch Paper Company, Sandusky, Ohio. a corporation of Ohio' Application September 4, 1948, Serial No. 47,776 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-15) This invention relates to containers of the paperboard type and more particularly to an improved bottom construction for such containers.

The invention has for an object to provide a container adapted to be formed without waste from a blank of substantially rectangular form and having strongly reinforced bottom structure. A further object of the invention is to provide a bottom composed of foldable sections that are integral with said upright walls of the container, that abut edge to edge and that are reinforced by one or more locking members that bridge the abutting edges of the bottom sections and that are interlocked therewith to resist separation of the bottom sections.

With the above and other objects in view the invention may be said to comprise the container as illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described, together with such variations and modications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the vspecification in which;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a paperboard container embodying the invention showing the same partially assembled;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through the container;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the locking member;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section takenon the line indicated at 4-4 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line indicated at 5-5 in Fig. 2 and showreason of the hinge connections between the walls at the corners. A pair of iiaps 6 and 'I are hinged to the bottom edge of the end wall 4 and these flaps. which are separated by a narrow slot 8, serve as end supports for the container bottom. A pair of bottom supporting aps 9 and I0 separated by a narrow slot I I are hinged to the bottom edge of the end wall 3. When the flaps 6, I, 9 and I0 are swung to horizontal position between the side walls 2 and flaps 6 and 'I are in alignment with the flaps I and S the slots 8 are alined with the slots I I.

The bottom of the container is formed by extensions of the side walls I and 2 which are hinged to the walls I and 2 along their bottom edges. The said bottom sections having outer portions I2 hinged to the side walls and inner flaps I3 that are folded back upon the inner portions I2. Longitudinal fold lines I4 are provided substantially midway between the inner and outer edges of the extensions and at a distance from the side wall I vsubstantially equal to half the Width of the conposition back to back as shown in dotted lines 'in Fig. 2.

Locking members I6 each of which may be in formof a folded paperboard strip such as shown ing the locking member in the position which -it occupies while it is being inserted into the openings 'of the bottom ap.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the container; and Fig. 7 is a plan view ofthe blank fromwhich the container is formed.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is shown applied to a paperboard container of rectangular form having upright side walls I and! g and upright end walls 3 and 4. As shown in Fig. 'I the sidewalls I and 2 are integrally joined to the end wall 3. the side wall 2 is integrally joined to the en d wall 4 and the end wall 4 is joined to the side wall I by vmeans of an integral tab 5 that is secured by suitable means such as staples to the wall I as shown in Fig. 1. The upright walls of the container are thus permanently secured together but are collapsible when in Fig. 3, serve to stiifen the bottom and also to lock the abutting edges of the bottom sections against separation. The locking strip I6 is of a width greater than the width of the openings I5 but less lthan the diagonal length of the openingsV I5 so that they can be inserted into the openings' when positioned diagonally of the openings as shown in Fig. 5. p

Substantially midway of the ends thereof the I locking strip I6 is provided with notches Il in its lside edges which. are of a width to receive the abuttingjportionsof the iiaps I3 and of a depth such that the portion of the strip between the notches is of a width corresponding to the width of the opening I5 so that the locking strip can be the flaps and bottom members are opened up by lportions I2 of the bottom sections and the flaps I3 are inserted between the slots 8 and Il and 4the bottom sections are swung upwardly to position the outer portion I2 horizontally and the fiaps I3 back to back as shown in Fig. 13. The locking strips I6 are then inserted in the openings I5, turned to horizontal position and placed fiat against the tops of the supporting flaps after which the flaps I3 are folded to horizontal position.

The width of the flaps I3 is preferably such that the free edges thereof have frictional engagement with the side walls I and 2 of the container and to facilitate the lifting of the flaps to knockdown the container, finger notches I8 are provided along the edges of the flaps I3.

In order to increase the rigidity and strength of the upright walls it is preferable that these walls be of double thickness. As herein shown, the side walls I and 2 are each provided with a pair of in-folding flaps I9 and each end wall with a flap 20. The naps I9 and 20 are preferably of a length such that their free edges have frictional engagement with the upper sides, bottom flaps I3 when folded against the interior faces of the upright walls and the flaps I9 and 20 are preferably provided with finger notches 2i and 22 at their edges to facilitate the opening of the fiaps when the container is being knocked down.

The end walls 3 and 4 and their flaps 2G may be provided with registering hand grip openings 23 and, in order to provide a more comfortable grip, the portions of the end walls 3 and 4 are cut away to provide the openings 23 therein, may be severed from the material of the end walls at the ends and bottom only so as to provide flaps 24 which can be inserted through the openings 23 of the flaps 20 to provide a smooth rounded hand grip along the top edges of the openings 23.

The locking members I6 serve to stiffen the container bottom intermediate the ends thereof and greatly increase the strength of the bottom by locking the abutting edges of the bottom sections against separation, thereby providing effective resistance to thrusts imposed upon the container by the weight of loose material on the bottom and side walls which tend to cause the container to bulge intermediate its ends and pull the abutting edges of the bottom sections apart.

It is to be understood that variations 'and modif-lcations of the specific devices herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, may be made lwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A rectangular container having upright walls and a bottom comprising two sections disposed with their edges abutting, said sections comprising extensions of two opposite upright walls that are hinged to the bottom edges of said opposite walls and folded along lines parallel to said opposite walls to provide inner edges that abut and flaps adapted to be folded back to positions overlying the inner portions of the sections, said sections having spaced registered openings along their abutting edges and locking members extending through said openings, ea'ch locking member being provided with notches in opposite side edges engaged by said portions of sections at opposite sides of the registering openings whereby the locking member is secured against movement with respect to both sections to resist separation of the abutting edges of said sections.

2. A rectangular container having upright walls and a bottom comprising two sections disposed with their inner edges abutting, said sections comprising extensions of two opposite upright walls that are hinged to the bottom edges of said opposite upright walls and folded along lines parallel to said opposite side walls to provide inner edges that abut and inner flaps adapted to overlie the outer portions of said extensions, said naps having rectangular openings bordering the fold lines, spaced longitudinally thereof and adapted to register when said flaps are disposed back to back, and flat stiffening and locking strips extending through the registering openings with opposite ends lying between the iiaps and outer portions of said bottom sections, said stiiening strips being of a width greater than the width of said openings but less than the diagonal length of said openings and having edge notches intermediate their ends of a width to receive and interlock with the said flaps and of a depth to provide a portion of a width to lie fiat in said openings, whereby said strips may be inserted in a diagonal position and turned within the openings t a position parallel to the container bottom.

3. A rectangular container having upright walls and a bottom comprising two sections disposed with their inner edges abutting, said sections comprising extensions of two opposite upright walls that are hinged to the bottom edges of said opposite upright walls and folded along lines parallel to said opposite walls to provide inner edges that abut and inner flaps adapted to overlie the outer portions of said extensions, said naps having rectangular openings bordering the fold lines, spaced longitudinally thereof and adapted to register when said flaps are disposed back to back, a pair of bottom supporting flaps hinged to the bottom edges of each of the other upright walls and positioned horizontally between the outer portions and fiaps of said bottom sections, and fiat stiffening strips extending through the registering openings with opposite end portions of each lying between the flaps of the bottom sections and the supporting aps of one of said pairs, said strips being of a width greater than that of said openings but; less than the diagonal length of the openings and having edge notches intermediate their ends of a width to receive and interlock with said inner flaps and of a depth to provide a portion adapted to fit in said opening when the strip is positioned parallel to the plane of the container bottom.

4. A container having side and end walls, a pair of bottom supporting fiaps hinged to the bottom edge of each end wall and adapted to occupy horizontal positions between the lower edges of the side walls, the inner edges of the flaps of each pair being spaced apart to provide alined slots centrally of the container bottom, an extension hinged to the lower edge of each side wall, each extension comprising an outer portion underlying the supporting fiaps at one side of said central alined slots and an inner portion extending through said slots and folded back against the flaps overlying said outer portion.

said extensions forming bottom sections abutting edge to edge centrally of the bottom, said inner portions having rectangular openings extending to said abutting edges and adapted to register when said inner portions are vertically disposed and a flat bottom stiffening strip of a width greater than said openings but less than the diagonal length of said openings, said stiffening strip having a narrowed portion intermediate its ends that is adapted to flt horizontally in said openings whereby said strip may be inserted in a diagonal position and turned in said openings to a horizontal position overlying said supporting flaps prior to the folding of said inner portions against the top faces of said supportingv flaps.

GAYLORD LOTH.

n 6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of'record in the le of this patent:

' UNITED STATES 'PATENTS Number Name Date 2,450,419 Cassidy et al. Oct. 5, 1948 

